Gaining Weight
 

Hey, I'm basically a skinny tall guy who's trying to build himself up, and put on some weight so to speak.

I've enrolled in the local gym, I've always been quite an active person and I eat when I'm hungry, but I'm quite skinny. I'm roughly 6 foot and weigh between 60 and 70 kg, (132-154lbs).

I just want to know how I can change my eating habits to help myself gain some weight but I don't want to eat crap food. I'll be going to the gym more and more, so I'm obviously going to be burning a lot of it.

Try for at least a gram of protein for each pound of body weight. Eat lots of peanut butter, chicken, tuna fish, etc. Quality protein shakes will help. Try using chocolate milk instead of water or regular milk for the shakes.

If you're trying to add muscle, that's fine, but don't just eat to gain weight. Talk to someone at the gym, and explain what your body goals are, and they should be able to point you in the right direction. Ultimately, if you take in more calories then you burn, you'll add weight, but not always the good kind.

The overall best food, in my opinion, is boneless, skinless chicken breast. They are very very lot in fat, and full of protein (~25-40g per breast). You can buy a large bag of frozen chicken breasts at the store and are easy to grill. You can eat the chicken just grilled with a salad/vegetable or as a sandwich (using mustard [0 Calories/fat] instead of mayonaisse.

I'm sure you meant mustard instead of mayonaise. Deli mustard is better than regular mustard on a chicken sandwich, IMO.

I would suggest eating more of the healthy food that you are already eating. You are a little underweight for your height so you probably aren't getting enough calories. You don't necessarily need to pig out on chips and burgers. If you eat lots of protein it will help build muscle. Try drinking protein shakes after the gym.

If you wanted to lose weight the safest and most effective way, you'd go to a nutritionist, right? So if you want to gain weight the safest and most effective way, go see a personal trainer or a fitness expert. Don't do it on the "advice you found on the internet" route- gaining weight the right way is something you want to know you're doing correctly. You don't want fat, you want muscle and bulk- and someone who gains bulk for a living will be the best resource you can have!

While I agree that if you want to gain muscle as quickly as possible, hiring a trainer is a reasonable route to take; but good nutrition is not rocket science. There are plenty of solid resources on the internet that can serve as guides for proper mass building in a safe, effective manner. It's not complicated- eat what's good for you, just more of it. Up your protein intake a little. Exercise a lot. Consider breaking down your meals so you're eating 5-6 times a day to keep your metabolism up.

Thanks this thread helped alot... I am working in a very physical interactive job, where I am frequently required to move objects 20 Ibs - 100 Ibs very quickly. I burn calories amazingly fast and while I have definantly become stronger and more toned I havent yet gained any true weight... infact I lost about 10 Ibs... definantly not a good sign since I only weighed 139 to begin with.... now I am down to 129 Ibs and trying to build up my weight with muscle and overall... it hasnt been working.. note that I have been eating as much protein and stuff that I can without becoming sick...but I am just burning just about everything off... It is very troubling for me...even for a fairly young guy 129 isnt really a healthy weight I think..

Well the good news you don't have to worry about obesity. I'm trying to think of what some of the underweight athletes used to do... Possibly a supplement or a weight gainer, along the lines of Creatin or something like that. I know alot of guys that took that and it puts on weight quick especially if you are working out, but alot of the weight is water so you need to work your ass off to convert it.

I would stay loaded up on Protein and Good Carbs, A steak and some potatoes wont kill ya...

In a way, you're lucky in that most of my clients want to lose weight, some want/need to lose almost as much as you weigh total! I work as a personal trainer, I have certifications from the Cooper Institute in personal training and Biomechanics and an OPT cert. from the National Acadamy of Sports Medicine. Really all that means is that I have some idea of what I'm talking about. Without seeing you in person I can't really assess what you might need to do but I'll try to give you some general guidelines. Bottom line is you need to keep track of your caloric in and outtake. 3500 calories equals one pound. In other words, if you ingest 3500 more calories in a given period than you burn, then you will gain a pound of weight. If you burn 3500 more calories than you ingest then you will lose a pound. From what what little info I have about you, you sound like a hard gainer, (I have clients that would KILL to be you!).What others have said is true, you need protein to build muscle. That protein will turn into amino acids to repair and build lean muscle tissue. Take a good whey protein shake before and after your work out. Also, if you are doing a lot of cardio,. you should cut back. To gain mass you want to warm up with 10 minutes of cardio at most before you weight train. Since you are thin and a hard gainer, don't be afraid of carbs., I'm not telling you to down donuts but since you want to gain weight and mass anyway tossing in some brown rice, adding potatos and cheese, and a big honking steak with some fat here and there is na' a bad idea. Big muscle needs calories and protein/amino acids. Work hard in the gym and get lots of protein, plus a little fat and carbs for energy. Fish is good for protein and omega 3 oils, nuts are good for this as well. Red meat has a lot of protein and at your bodyweight/fat percentage enjoy some fat as well, just don't over do it. Take a multivitamin daily, take whey protein 1/2 an hour before and 1/2 hour after your weight training. Again, training by internet is far from an exact science but these are my suggestions. My biggest suggestion is to ask around the gym at which you train. I'm sure there are people there that would be glad to help you out. Good luck!

If you see it, eat it !!

hey thanks stephan and jt!

I too have been unsuccessfully trying to gain weight. Im 5'9 and weigh around 125 give or take 5 pounds. I eat incredibly healthy, never touch restaurant food or candy. I try and drink lots of calorie laden smoothies and shakes, and tons of beef and chicken, but the more I eat, the more I poop. I feel like nothing stays in my system for more than an hour or so.